


More Precious Than Pearls

by matrixrefugee



Category: Yami No Matsuei
Genre: F/F, F/M, Pre-Canon, Teen love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-07-29
Updated: 2011-07-29
Packaged: 2017-10-21 20:36:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 864
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/229592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/matrixrefugee/pseuds/matrixrefugee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Even as a high school student, Muraki doted on Ukyou, and the girl who cared for her was happy for them...</p>
            </blockquote>





	More Precious Than Pearls

**Author's Note:**

> Technically this is a younger!Muraki/Ukyou story, bit it turned into an unrequited younger!Rika/Ukyou story as well. The idea came to me when I was re-reading Vol. 6 of the manga: I love how Rika and Chidsuru get a second chance there, even though Chidsuru is now a shinigami. And I can so totally see Rika crushing on Ukyou back when the bunch of them were in high school: it's hard not to, since Ukyou is so kyoot (just don't let her boyfriend/fiance find out that you've got a thing for her: depending on when it occurs, you could end up dead or worse, as one of his patients...). And I had to stop and go "Awwww..." every so often while I was writing a younger, sadder, and gentler Muraki: he's very different here, as he hasn't yet given in to his inner demons... though there's a hint that not all is well with him...

Disclaimer: I do not own Yami no Matsuei, aka Descendants of Darkness, it’s characters, concepts and other indicia, which are the intellectual property of Yoko Matsushita, Hiroko Tokita, Manga Entertainment, Viz Media, Hakusensha, Central Park Media, et al.

Rika noticed the necklace around Ukyou's neck the day after White Day, when the two of them and Chidsuru were having lunch together under a chestnut tree in the schoolyard. But from the way Ukyou kept tucking it under her school blazer, she clearly was trying to keep it hidden. Yet Rika finally got a glimpse of it: a white pearl pendant the size of the end of her little finger.

"Where did you get that necklace? It's beautiful," Rika asked.

Ukyou covered the necklace with one hand. "It was a present," she said, blushing.

"Oh? A present from whom?" Chidsuru asked, eying it curiously.

 _Whoever he is, I hope he's as good to her as the gift he's given her,_ Rika thought. Ukyou was as special and as pure as that pearl.

Ukyou blushed a darker shade of pink and her fingers caressed the pearl carefully, protectively. "It's from Kazu-kun."

"Kazu-kun? You mean Kazutaka Muraki?" Chidsuru asked, her eyes widening.

Ukyou nodded shyly. "Well, yes, we've been seeing each other for a month now, ever since Oriya-kun introduced us."

"Him? That pale skinny kid with the thick glasses?" Chidsuru cut in before Rika could speak. She didn't mind: she knew their friend cared for Ukyou almost as much as she did, in a sisterly way. "I know he comes from a good family, but he's so... odd."

"He is a little odd, but he has his reasons," Ukyou replied, dropping her gaze shyly. "He has a wounded heart and he tends to keep his distance from people because he's protecting it."

"But you got him to open up to you," Rika said with a smile.

"Of course she did: she's so sweet, he'd have to be made of ice or steel if he didn't," Chidsuru said with a laugh.

"So do you think he's the one you'll marry someday?" Rika asked, even though the question pained her to ask.

"Maybe. I liked Oriya-kun very much, but it would not have worked." Ugly things were whispered about Oriya's family and their connections, though the Mibu were generally respected in the city, and his personality could seem aloof and abrasive until he opened up. "And yet part of me is a little afraid to get too close to Kazu-kun, in case I should hurt him."

"I doubt you'll hurt him: I'm more worried that he could hurt you somehow," Chidsuru said, clenching her hands a little. "If he does, let Rika and me have a talk with him."

"I appreciate this," Ukyou said. "But I don't think you'll have to do that. He's very gentle and kind: he has his dark side, but it exists only to guard his wounded soul."

"You know him better than we do," Rika said. "I just hope you see into his heart and see what's really there. But you do have that way of bringing out the best in people."

The bell rang at that moment, and a tallish boy with a pale face and silvery-blond hair approached the three of them; Ukyou blushed and looked away as he crouched down to her level. He glanced at Rika and Chidsuru, his grey eyes peering at them through wire-rimmed eyeglasses; Rika could see what her friend meant: his eyes hid a deep well of sadness behind his mask of inscrutability. Normally, she didn't find young men attractive, but something about him made her heart skip a beat. He looked a bit thin, but Rika could tell that once he grew into himself, he would be a heartbreaker; she just hoped that he would never break Ukyou's heart.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" he asked, looking at Ukyou.

"I'm sorry, Kazu-kun, I got lost in your eyes," she replied, quickly rectifying the situation.

A few moments later, when the young couple had moved on, Rika remarked, "She's found herself a good-looking young man, and from the stories I've heard about his family's fortune: she'd be set for life, once they married."

Chidsuru frowned, concerned. "I'm not so sure about that; did you see the way he looked at you when you were looking at Ukyou?"

"No, why? He wasn't ogling me like Taira-kun does, was he?" Rika asked, annoyed for a moment.

"Worse than that: he looked at you as if he might be worried you were trying to get between him and Ukyou, as if he was promising himself that he would see that it doesn't happen. You know how rich guys can get about people and things that they want."

"He has nothing to worry about: I'm happy that she's found someone who makes her happy and I would never do anything to take that away from her or him. Besides, I'm sure there's someone out there for me, they just haven't figured out who I am or what they mean to me," Rika said, dropping her gaze to hide the blush that spread across her cheeks.


End file.
